Did Viet Cong fall for their own traps?

Did Viet Cong fall for their own traps?

The booby trap was one of the signature tactics the Viet Cong used against American troops in Vietnam. It seems impossible, but the VC thought of that. In order to avoid falling victim to their own simple but effective traps, they created a system to clandestinely mark the traps.

How many Vietnamese died from their own traps?

In all, at least 45,000 Vietnamese men and women are said to have died defending the Cu Chi tunnels over the course of the Vietnam War. In the years following the fall of Saigon in 1975, the Vietnamese government preserved the Cu Chi tunnels and included them in a network of war memorial parks around the country.

How did Viet Cong avoid their own traps?

The Viet Cong often plant grenades under the bodies of their own corpses. Since the Viet Cong make extensive use of mines and booby traps they need and use a system of marking their emplacements to prevent their own forces from being caught in the traps.

How many died from booby traps in Vietnam?

According to the report, Army research shows that nearly 90 percent of the mines and booby traps used against American troops in Vietnam were either American-made or were manufactured by enemy troops with captured American components. About 64,000 American troops were killed or injured by mines in the Vietnam War.

What booby traps did the Viet Cong use?

A cartridge trap is a type of booby trap devised by the Viet Cong and subsequently used against American and other anti-Communist forces supporting South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. It derives its name from the fact that the wounding component of the trap is a small arms cartridge.

Why did the Viet Cong use booby traps?

Many were designed to maim instead of kill – not only did this mean other soldiers were required to remove their wounded colleagues which hampered operations, but it also meant the traps were a psychological weapon as word about them spread.

Are booby traps illegal?

Booby Traps are Illegal A booby trap may be defined as any concealed or camouflaged device designed to cause bodily injury when triggered by any action of a person making contact with the device.

What traps did the Vietcong use?

8 of the Most Dangerous Viet Cong Booby Traps

• Punji sticks. Punji sticks were the most infamous of the booby traps used, said to account for 2\% of wounds to American soldiers.
• Grenade Traps.
• Cartridge Traps.
• Snake Pits.
• The Mace.
• Tiger Traps.
• Pressure Release Traps.
• Bamboo Whip.

What are Viet Cong traps?

Are booby traps banned in war?

The Protocol prohibits the use of land mines, remotely delivered mines, or booby traps to kill civilians or to cause superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering to soldiers.

Did the US use booby traps Vietnam?

Booby traps were cheap and relatively simple to make, and the Viet Cong used them to devastating effect. It’s estimated that approximately 11\% of deaths and 15\% of wounds to American soldiers were caused by booby traps and mines in the Vietnam War.

Are there any traps in the Vietnam War?

Sometimes (in the case of larger shells) fatal, most often these traps left a man permanently disabled. The Vietnamese made use of pressure release traps as well. In the famous movie “Platoon” (1986), a GI lifts an ammo case filled with maps he has just found in a hastily abandoned Viet Cong headquarters.

How effective were the snakes in the Vietnam War?

Left in old weapons caches, or tied and left around corners in the various tunnel complexes dug by the Viet Cong, the snakes were not necessarily the most effective booby trap of the war but ranked high in terms of the fear the thought of finding one instilled. During the course of the war, the Vietnamese perfected the “art” of the booby trap.

Why did the Viet Cong fly flags in Vietnam?

The NVA and Viet Cong loved to fly flags and knew US troops liked to capture them – when forced to leave a location, they often rigged the flags with an explosive, so when US troops started to take down the flag, the booby trap would go off.

Who were the Viet Cong and what did they do?

The Viet Cong were the guerrilla force that, with the support of the North Vietnamese Army, fought against South Vietnam and its allies.